Tamara (my bride) and I head off to Puerto Rico with eight high school students and one parent chaperone on this coming Saturday. We have bee "coaching" them all year long on cross-cultural missions, language barriers, food differences, worship stylehttps://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A18-20&version=AMPs, and of course, sharing the Gospel in practical and casual ways. This will be the twentieth (I may have lost track) mission trip for Tamara and me between Jackson, MS, St. Vincent in the Grenadines, New Orleans, Columbia, SC, NY, and now five to PR. All have involved lots of prayer, preparation, training, and sacrifice . . . and al well worth it! The memories, the friends made, and the saved souls gained for Christ will last an eternity.
Now for this trip . . . .
Acting out the Great Commission (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A18-20&version=AMP) comes in many forms; prayer for missionaries and their work, supporting mission work financially, participating in short-term trips as this one, and committing to full time service in the mission field locally and across the waters. This is what we have been "coaching" our teens concerning missions all year long leading up to our trip.
Our teens, in addition to the weekly study sessions, have sent out letters for support, started fundraising accounts on social media, worked at a car wash in 90 degree heat, as well as an on-line fundraiser through school. They were witnessing to friends and families about mission work without even knowing it! Now we are ready to "go!"
Please pray with us and for us as we count down the days and ask God to use us . . . even before we fly.
This comes from a mission devotional at mybible.com: (https://my.bible.com/users/jc4kids/reading-plans/23683-why-missions-matters/subscription/807128583/day/1/segment/0)
For this time in history, in this moment, our Lord has chosen us to be His messengers here in our nation and to the ends of the earth! Nothing in life will ever outweigh the importance of advancing God’s kingdom. Our human, earthbound pursuits will always fall short. But if we will arise—if we will take a step of faith and GO—imagine what our great God will do!
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